Department of Rapid Transit Systems

With public art elements incorporated into the design of the entire line, the Circular line Phase I is the first line of its kind in Taiwan. On the morning of January 31, the opening ceremony is being held at Shisizhang Station—the green building station with Earth green design. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi have jointly extended an invitation for distinguished guests, including President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Su Tseng-chang to launch the opening ceremony together. VIP guests attending the ceremony also include central and local elected representatives, related department heads, and representatives of manufacturers, and the ceremony is being held at a grand venue for the witnessing and celebration of the line opening together with distinguished guests. At the same time they will ride in the Circular line cars together with their strong European style design to  New Taipei Industrial Park Station where will be opened for in-town check-in. After Circular line Phase I is opened to the public, the construction length of Taipei MRT network will span 152 km and 131 stations. Furthermore, in addition to providing more comfortable transportation conditions for citizens, the network also creates more convenient living spaces, closes distances between people, and drives local development. With a predominantly golden yellow system, Circular line Phase I not only provides passengers with visual enjoyment, it also turns over a new leaf for transportation in Taipei Metropolitan Area.
Mayor Ko Wen-je in his speech expressed thanks to residents living in areas along the line in New Taipei City for their tolerance and understanding of the inconveniences caused by the construction. After Circular line Phase I commences operations, it will connect with seven MRT lines in the Taipei Metropolitan Area. As the first of its kind in the history of MRT construction, it is a dense route network leading in all directions and will significantly improve the efficiency of transportation services in the route network. Six major lines are being added to the Taipei MRT network, which are divided by color, and the number of transfer stations in operation will be increased to 18. The convenient transfer system will facilitate access to any of the 131 stations in the entire network and will effectively disperse the current crowded traffic on specific routes during rush hours. Moreover, the perfect traffic and cross-district construction will promote the overall development of Taipei City and New Taipei City and provide the public with a quality living environment.
Mayor Ko emphasized that the Taipei Metropolitan MRT system connects important main routes with a grid network in Taipei City center and extends outwards to the outer edges of important corridors along radiating routes. Furthermore, the planning concept for the Circular line is to connect radiating MRT routes in Taipei Metropolitan Area via a circular route and achieve the objective of convenient transportation through rendezvous transfers in order to build a complete MRT route network in Taipei Metropolitan Area. The Metropolitan Circular line is an MRT construction which Taipei City government is actively promoting at this stage, and the Executive Yuan has already approved the planning for the north section and south section which will connect Circular line Phase I, which was commenced operations today, with the planned east section. When construction is completed, it will form a Metropolitan Circular network spanning 49.2 km in length. The 42 stations of the entire Circular line will span 14 administrative districts in Taipei City and New Taipei City, and there will be direct interchanges with the MRT, the Light Rail, TRA, and THSR at 14 of these stations. Connecting 16 radiating routes, it will reduce the number of transfers required for passengers to reach the city center, reduce crowded conditions at transfer stations in the city center, achieve the objectives of saving money and time through fast and easy transfers, and put sustainable and livable living circles within reach in Taipei.
Taipei City DORTS stated that for the Circular Line, which winds its way through the city like an urban dragon, an MRT system with elevated stations and viaduct construction has been employed for the first time domestically. In order to reduce impacts on the urban landscape, the overall design is based on “light;” moreover, with the three main themes of nature, photosynthesis, and new joyous living, it reduces visual clashing and adds considerable vividness. This is also the first time that convention has been broken to incorporate public art elements into the interior and exterior decoration of the electric cars, and this design has been implemented on the elevated beams and columns, drainage pipes, soundproof walls, and platform doors of the entire line. With a shape like a golden dragon, when going from the only underground station, Dapinglin Station, to the elevated section, the Circular line train cars look as though a rainbow is jumping into the skyline. In addition, the eye-catching public work of art entitled “sparkling” matches the theme colors which have been selected for each station with its white background, and displayed on the pillars below the stations and on the vertical line walls of some stations, the theme colors of each station are represented on the section crossing over Xindian River, forming a rainbow bridge which has become a new highlight of the local landscape. Furthermore, the sound insulation walls are constructed as white-based yellow blocks making the Circular line train cars wind like a white dragon shuttling between buildings. The golden scales sparkle in the sunlight giving of the image of “flowing clouds and a dragon traveling for a thousand miles,” and with matching platform doors and trains at each station, it forms a complete set as a visual feast.
The Circular line Phase I, which is being opened today, is the first fully automated driverless MRT system of its kind for which a steel wheel rail vehicle design has been utilized. From Dapinglin Station to New Taipei Industrial Park Station, it runs for a length of 15.4 km with a total of 14 stations (including 13 elevated stations and 1 underground station) along with a level 5 maintenance depot. With the completion and opening of the Circular line Phase I, crossing the four administrative districts of Xindian, Zhonghe, Banqiao, and Xinzhuang, the travel time between Xindian and Xinzhuang will be reduced by more than 20 minutes. In the future being able to transfer to Songshan -Xindian line, Zhonghe-Xinlu line, Bannan line, Wanda line, and Taoyuan International Airport MRT will enable the two golden cities, Taipei City and New Taipei City, to be closely linked, and it will promote the development of areas along the route, enabling the full economic benefits of Taipei Metropolitan Area MRT network to be fully realized.